disaster zone. a long weekend of violent weather in the south spawns hundreds of tornadoes, leaving dozens dead and countless homes damaged or destroyed. asleep at the switch. after yet another air traffic controller is caught sleeping on the job, the faa changes regulations and orders extra training. and sticker shock. with gas prices already near record highs, analysts warn $5 a gallon is coming, and sooner than you think. captioning funded by cbs and good morning, everybody. good to see you on this monday. i'm tarell brown in for betty

nguyen. residents from oklahoma to maryland are picking up the pieces of shattered homes and lives after a weekend few will ever forget. more than 240 tornadoes touched down over the plains and the south over a three-day period. that's a record for a single storm system. at least 45 people were killed by the twisters and other violent weather. nowhere was hit harder than north carolina. at least 21 people died in the state's deadliest weather day in decades. communities large and small are devastated. the governor asked for federal help in assessing the damage and helping residents get back on their feet. inez is live in raleigh with the latest. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. i'm in one of the neighborhoods hit hardest and you can see the house behind me simply destroyed. many residents around here just feel lucky to be alive. residents in greene county, north carolina, are sifting through what's left of their devastating community. >> hopefully, we'll rebuild, you know. i don't know at this point. >> reporter: over the weekend, a

line of violent storms spawned more than 60 tornadoes in the state, killing at least 21 people, three of them young children who died at this mobile home park in stony brook. in other parts of the state, harrowing stories of survival. >> right now, it's just a state of shock, you know. just glad i got out alive. >> reporter: connie owens hid in her closet as one of the twisters ripped through her home. >> and it started sucking stuff out of the closet and it sucked my tennis shoes off my feet. >> reporter: this lowe's store was ripped to shreds. quick-thinking employees are being credited with helping save the people inside. >> i said we have a tornado. get to the bathrooms now! >> reporter: here in raleigh, the damage is almost hard to believe. this neighborhood is absolutely devastated. and sadly, it's not the only one. >> i've seen a lot of damage in north carolina over the years, but this is the most catastrophic i've ever seen. >> reporter: the violent weather began thursday in oklahoma before cutting across the deep south. in all, more than 240 tornadoes touched down in 14 states, a

record for a single storm system. in virginia, tim ranking's home now sits in the water. >> i don't really know how you go about salvaging a house that's laying in the river upside down. >> reporter: complicating the rebuilding effort even further, more severe weather is on tap for tomorrow. forecasters warn there will be a triple threat of tornadoes, high winds and hail. and several residents that we spoke to said that they were just simply touched yesterday by the amount of workers and volunteers, neighbors that came out to try and clear out some of the debris, but they still have a long way to go. >> a lot of work to do. ines ferre, thank you. meanwhile, another tragedy in north carolina this morning. five people were killed in a highway accident, including three children. it happened last night in the national forest north of the camp lejeune marine base. the victims were found in an suv turned upside down in a canal. investigators don't think bad weather was a factor in the crash. wildfires are still burning this morning across texas. the governor is asking president

obama to declare the stricken region a disaster area. in austin yesterday, firefighters used helicopters for aerial water-drops. the fire destroyed at least eight homes and damaged at least ten others. other fires in texas have burned more than 1,000 square miles. half a dozen fires are still burning, being driven by strong winds and dry conditions. in idaho today, rescuers will use a remote-control digging machine. they're hoping to reach a miner missing deep inside a silver mine. the mine is in the town of mullen in eastern idaho near the state line. there has been no contact with the missing miner since the tunnel collapse on friday. his condition is unknown this morning. to the deepening concern now about air travel safety it happened again this weekend. for the sixth time in less than a month, an air traffic controller was caught napping on the job. now, the faa is taking emergency steps to counter the disturbing trend. susan mcginnis is in washington this morning with more on this. susan, good morning to you. >> good morning. the head of the faa and the chief of the air traffic

controllers are starting a seven-city training tour today. this is to reinforce the message that sleeping on the job is not acceptable and to explain the faa's new regulations. the new rules start with an order to get more rest. instead of the mandatory eight hours off between shifts, the rules now require nine hours off. the rules also ban controllers from swapping in to a midnight shift after a day off, a scheduling trick often used by controllers to get a three-day weekend. >> more rest time, more managers on duty and making sure that the controllers are not looking out for their own schedule rather than the safety schedule that we think needs to be put in place. >> reporter: the new rules come after another air traffic controller was caught sleeping on the job, this time in miami early saturday morning. according to the faa, the controller did not miss any calls from aircraft and there was no operational impact.

but that makes eight instances of controllers falling asleep in six cities in just the past two months, and those are just the ones the government knows about. the issue is not new. back in 2007, the national transportation safety board warned the faa that its scheduling system was part of the problem. "controllers are sometimes working when they are significantly fatigued and are committing fundamental errors," it warned. "the ntsb is concerned about the lack of faa action on the issue." >> the reality of life is that the way we have been operating over the past three decades, it has proven to be a horrible way of doing business in the air traffic control tower. >> now, the other recommendation is that controllers working on overnight shifts take breaks to get some sleep, but the transportation secretary has ruled that one out, saying that controllers will not be paid to take naps. >> susan mcginnis in washington for us this morning. susan, thank you. and today is the deadline

for filing your income taxes. the tea party activists are planning rallies across the nation to call for cuts in taxes and government spending. rallies were held around the nation over the weekend, marking the two-year anniversary of the movement's founding. the rallies featured appearances by potential republican presidential candidates. >> let's send them this message -- don't tread on me. >> real solidarity means coming together for the common good. this tea party is real solidarity! >> some tea partiers say the wisconsin battle over collective bargaining was a wake-up call for the nation. a wave of suicide attacks in afghanistan. police say a gunman in an army uniform opened fire inside the defense ministry compound, killing an unknown amount of people. he was killed by return fire. forces of moammar gadhafi are attacking two rebel-held towns. at least 17 people were killed this weekend in misrata.

it is the only rebel-held town remaining in the western part of the country. they're also shelling a.jdabiya weikileaks shows the state department is financing antigovernment operations inside syria. it's unclear if the operation is still going. the "post" says money was set aside through at least september of last year. elsewhere in the middle east, yemen is in turmoil after the biggest antigovernment demonstrations yet. hundreds of thousands of protesters marched in yemen's capital and other cities. security forces responded with gunfire, tear gas and water cannons. a doctor working with the protesters says more than 200 were injured. the operator of japan's crippled nuclear power plant says it could take from six to nine months to get the plant fully under control. the plant has been leaking radiation since the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami last month. secretary of state hillary

clinton visited japan on sunday. she promised continued u.s. support to help the tens of thousands of people displaced by the disaster. we'll take a quick break. just ahead on the "morning news," broadway's "spider-man" show faces new changes. plus, it's deadline day. find out who isn't paying their fair share of taxes. this is the "morning news." with being fed on. we demand k9 advantix ii. it not only kills fleas and ticks, it repels most ticks before they can attach and snack on us. frontline plus kills but doesn't repel. any tick that isn't repelled or killed may attach and make a meal of us. so let's put our paws down in protest. no fetching, no friendship till we all get k9 advantix ii. join us at poochprotest.com. [ male announcer ] ask your veterinarian about k9 advantix ii.

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even before it was officially up the broadway curtain has come down on "spider-man: turn off the dark." the accident-prone musical has had nothing but trouble and bad reviews since it opened for previews last november. now producers are reworking the show from the bottom up. they insist it will return in a few weeks. online dating site match.com says it will try to screen out sex offenders. the website says after recent improvements in the national sex offender registry, they'll start checking it against people who use their service. last week a california woman filed a lawsuit against match.com saying she was sexually assaulted by a man who could have been screened out with a criminal background check. "cbs moneywatch" time on this monday.

a mostly flat day for asian markets. ashley morrison with more in new york. good morning to you. >> good morning, terrell. small gains in asia, tokyo's nikkei and hong kong's hang seng finished up a fraction and oil rose to nearly $109 a barrel. today, wall street gets the very latest on the housing market. this is another big week for earnings, as well, with apple, goldman sachs, and intel among the headliners. in the last trading session on friday, positive economic news put stocks back in the black. the dow gained 56 points, while the nasdaq edged up 4. attention procrastinators, federal tax returns need to be filed by midnight tonight. if you owe taxes, there is actually a benefit, though, to waiting to the last minute. that way you've gotten every last bit of interest on your money before you pay uncle sam. americans who have money coming to them are better off filing early. and the rich are paying less than ever, according to one report, since 1992, the average federal income tax actually paid by the wealthier 400 households

has fallen from 26% to 17%. for the first time since japan's massive earthquake and tsunami, toyota says all of its plants in the country are back in production. but they will work only at half capacity for now because of a parts shortage. the automaker says the twin disasters have caused a production loss of more than 260,000 vehicles. at the movies, a huge opening for "rio." the 3-d animated adventure packed them in, winning the weekend box office with sales of $40 million. that is the biggest opening for a movie so far this year. the slasher comedy "scream 4" opened in second place with disappointing sales, and after two weekends at the top the easter bunny tale "hop" slipped to third. and the royal wedding is still 11 days away but ad companies are already making the most of it. this t-mobile commercial complete with lookalikes and some questionable choreography -- is that you,

terrell? i see you in there. has gone viral on the internet in just the last few days. t-mobile says it's a congratulations message to will and kate as well as a way of capturing england's celebration mood. i've never seen them celebrate like that over there. >> what are you talking about? that looks like you and me before the show every morning. >> exactly. we come on out -- >> that's what we do in the studio. party over here. ashley morrison here in new york. ashley, good to see you. thank you. and with that, we'll take a quick break on this monday morning. sports coming up. carmelo goes cold at the worst possible time. the celtics and knicks in an nba playoff battle. ♪

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. partly cloudy and 59 in new york. sunny and 88 in miami. rain, mixed with snow, 40 in chicago. partly cloudy, 90 in dallas. 67 and partly cloudy in los angeles. team now for a check of the national forecast. latest satellite picture shows clear skies in the southern plains and southwest. there are a few showers lingering over the northeast. later today, snow in parts of wyoming and south dakota and rain in colorado. the southeast is humid with sunny skies and the northeast will see a mix of sun and clouds with a chance of rain. in sports this morning, boston fights off new york in the nba playoffs. to the highlights, ray allen of the celtics hits a three with 12 seconds left. it caps a second-half rally against the knicks.

new york's carmelo anthony missed the last shot. boston took game one. game two tuesday night in boston. in oklahoma city, kevin durant scored 41 points for the thunder in game one of the playoff series against denver. russell westbrook added 31. the thunder beat the nuggets 107-103. an upset in los angeles, new orleans point guard chris paul had 33 points, 15 in the fourth quarter. the hornets beat the defending champion lakers 109-100. and in memphis, talking about surprising san antonio in game one, they took the lead with just seconds left. the spurs missed a shot at the buzzer. the grizzlies get their first-ever playoff win 101-98. in baseball the yankees rallied to beat the rangers. new york's eric chavez singled home the tie-breaking run in the eighth inning. the yanks hung on to edge the rangers 6-5. and in phoenix, bottom of the 12th, arizona's steve drew singled to right. the runner from second beat the throw to score. the diamondbacks beat the giants

6-5. when we come back another look at this morning's top stories. and pain at the pump. you know what i'm talking about. soaring gas prices already putting the brakes on the economic recovery. overy. [ female announcer ] letting go of your cigarettes can be hard. but the nicoderm cq patch gradually steps you down off of nicotine in just three steps, doubling your chances for success. nicoderm cq. 3 steps, 10 weeks and you're free.

so i'm taking charge with claritin-d. it relieves even my worst allergy symptoms. nothing works stronger, faster or longer for nasal congestion and sinus pressure without drowsiness. i only live claritin clear, with claritin-d. the bay area are coming together today to help the victims of the tsunami in japan. plus.. a medical setback for the giants fan, recovering from a brutal attack. why doctors have put bryan stow, back in a coma. a bay area city, says goodbye to free sunday parking. why officials say it will actually make things easier for drivers. and.. it's tax day. the bay area post offices staying open late. join us for cbs 5 early edition ... beginning at 4:30. ,,

on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. relatively calm conditions have returned after a weekend of deadly, severe weather across the south. in general, warm and dry in southern states, chilly and wet in the north. light showers linger in the great lakes. here's another look at this morning's top stories. one much the most violent storm systems in memory has left a trail of death and destruction across the south. hundreds of tornadoes cause enormous damage over the weekend and dozens of people were killed. and the faa is imposing new rules on its air traffic controllers after yet another controller was found sleeping on the job. the sixth in less than a month.

to the continuing rise now in gasoline prices. the nationwide average rose seven cents a gallon in just the past week, $3.83 a gallon. in six states and the district much columbia, average prices now top $4. elaine quijano reports the impact is already rippling through the economy. >> if you think you're getting robbed at the gas pump, blow your horn. >> reporter: think gas prices are high now? economists predict they'll climb even higher, driven by unrest in the middle east, and uncertainty about future oil prices. >> by the summer we'll be, what, maybe up to $5? >> yeah. >> people will be staying home because price also be ridiculous. >> reporter: the rising prices come just as the economy is beginning to show some signs of life. including a drop in unemployment to 8.8%. the lowest level in two years. but analysts say soaring energy costs are threatening to slow down the nation's recovery. >> gasoline prices drive up food prices, they also make more expensive business at places like florists, landscapers and so forth.

there's a big crunch in the service sector, and on food prices. >> flowers, can i help you? >> reporter: at union city flower shop in new jersey, that cost of doing business has increased dramatically. you've had to make some pretty big adjustments, then? >> big-time. big-time. >> reporter: the manager estimates compared to last year, it now costs about $60 more each time he fills up one of his four delivery vans. and the vendors who deliver flowers to them have doubled their fuel charges, as well. he's resisted raising his prices for fear of losing his longtime customer. >> we get it from one end, we get frite another, and it's just squeezing us. we have nowhere to move. >> reporter: to cope, he's taken painful measures, shrinking the store's delivery area. here in new york city gas prices are already well above $4 a gallon. some analysts say relief is still months away. they estimate oil and gas prices will not stabilize until the summer. elaine quijano, cbs news, new york. this morning on "the early show," the latest on the tornado

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with congress in recess until next month, most lawmakers have returned home to take things easy. but six senators, three from each party, are still hard at work on a bipartisan plan they hope will reduce the federal deficit by $4 trillion. whit johnson reports they have their work cut out for them. >> reporter: the bitter divide over how to fix america's finances just keeps getting wider. >> we have to use a scalpel and not a machete to reduce the deficit. >> rather than building bridges he's poisoning wells. >> reporter: but working quietly behind the scenes is a group of senators known as the gang of six. three democrats, senators mark warner, dick durbin and kent conrad, and three republicans, senators saxby chambliss, tom coburn and mike crapo. they're doing something almost unheard of in today's hyper positive washington, working

together on tackling the nation's ballooning debt, now ticking closer to the $14.3 trillion limit. >> when we started this we were kind of viewed as the odd guys out that nobody gave much chance to. >> reporter: this odd couple, democratic senator mark warner of virginia, and republican senator saxby chambliss of georgia, started the gang four months ago. >> i've got two children and five grandchildren. should we leave them a $14 trillion debt? my firm answer is no. >> reporter: when they're not meeting in private, they're jointly hosting town halls across the country, hoping to get the business community on board. >> it's so critically important for us to get this issue under control now. >> reporter: to avoid political mudslinging, they remain tight-lipped about what their proposals might be. but do say they'll pick up where a bipartisan fiscal commission left off last december. that group recommended cutting $4 trillion over the next decade. in part by raising the retirement age. reducing medicare benefits for the wealthy. and reforming the tax code by eliminating popular loopholes. tough to swallow for both

parties. how do you sell this? >> we've got to check our democrat hat and republican hats at the door and put on that american hat first. >> reporter: warner and chambliss call it shared sacrifice. meaning republicans take a closer look at raising taxes. is that on the table? >> it's got to be. but what we hope is that it will be revenue neutral. >> reporter: and democrats loosen their grip on entitlement programs. >> everybody's going to have some skin in the game. everybody's ox is going to get gored a little bit on this. >> reporter: the gang of six could unveil its plan as early as may. but time is running out. both sides agree, the closer we get to the 2012 election, the tougher it will be to get a deal. whit johnson, cbs news, washington. coming up a little later on "the early show," the very latest on the huge task facing many communities in the south after a record-setting weekend of violent storms and deadly tornados. plus, an update on the hunt for a young woman who was dragged from her home last week in rural tennessee. and the building excitement in london, as the wedding of

prince william and kate middleton now less than two weeks away. all that and more coming up a little bit later on "the early show." for now that will do it for this monday morning edition of the "cbs morning news." appreciate you watching this morning. i'm terrell, brown. thank you, everybody. have a great day. tí ,,,,,,,,